jcallery89

I've logged a good amount of hours without catching a fish before this trip. I'm sure all of you have been through this before, where you can't even get a bite. You spend $$ on crankbaits, spinners, floaters, etc., thinking the fish are sure to bite something you throw at them, right? You return to the tried-and-true spots, throw every lure/rig at them, and still nothing. This issue with this is, it's like golf. You end up getting anxious, stop using the methods that have caught you fish in the past, you rush your casts, get impatient and get frustrated. What's the point of fishing if you're getting frustrated? When I golf with people who just hate themselves after every shot it's like, why are you paying to do this to yourself bud?!

My biggest issue is that I need to cram in all the fishing I can right now, since my work really picks up in the summer and I barely have any free time. I realized the other night that whether or not I was catching fish, I was outside, enjoying nature, walking well-kept trails by people who never get enough gratitude, and I wasn't sitting in front of the TV scratchin' my ass. What's the point of getting frustrated?

Needless to say, fishing does have an element of luck, so if you've caught something on your go-to method, just stick with it and let luck catch up with you. I'm starting to acknowledge that a big part of what I like about fishing is the trails I get to walk to find that perfect spot from shore. So I hunt out a body of water that has a trail map in the area and have the mentality of just enjoying the outdoors, getting some exercise and fresh air, and zoning out. Don't get me wrong, I love me a beer or some Jameson, but a few hours outdoors of trail-walking and fishing is just as good as a cold brewski.

Anyways, sorry for the rant, just hoping that if anyone else experiences the same thing, maybe this will shed some light on the things that make fishing so awesome.

Headed out to some water I've never fished before, doused myself in Deep-Woods, grabbed my stuff and headed down the trail. Haverhill's got a few ponds/lakes that you can fish, and I've had luck at a few of them like Crystal Lake, Plug Pond, and Lake Pentucket. The only issue is that some of these spots are so crowded, so I try to seek out the less crowded spots. That said, I can't say exactly where I caught these fish, but send me a private message and I can tell ya where.

I have noticed some baby bass swimming around, so I think we're in the post-spawn for some waters. However, I think the weather we've had over the last month has really messed with the spawn, since some waters are really warm, and some are still pretty cold.

I've had some bass hitting frogs and buzzbaits, but not aggressively enough that I can set the hook. Don't know if they're just a little too lethargic or they're small bass and the bigguns are sticking around the beds. I put on a black/pink senko texas-rigged and casted towards a stump with some grass nearby. About 10 seconds of sitting on the bottom, I finally saw the line go tight and set the hook. FINALLY. This guy gave me an awesome fight, especially because it was on my 5'6" rod. It was a nice largemouth I'd say right around the 2lb mark. Had a really thick body and a nice little tummy.

Stayed at the same spot and kept fishing the senkos, switching back and forth from the black/pink and the green/orange colors. Have seen more success with the two-colored worms than the solid colors with flakes. Right around that same grassy area I landed another LMB, probably a little over 1lb. This one jumped out of the water about 5 times, which makes any fish exciting no matter how big.

Tried that grassy area for another 30 mins or so and no bites. Moved over a little bit and fished parallel to the shore letting the worm sink and sit for about 45 seconds to a minute. Then giving it a pull and reeling in a little to try and get that signature "fall" that senkos have. Repeat that about 3-5 times per cast. Did this for about 20 minutes without getting impatient, and landed another nice 2-2.5 lber.

The wind died down and the mosquitos really started to come out, and man they've been bad so far. Even with the Deep Woods on, I still get swarmed and end up with 5 or so bites all over my fingers which saaahhckkksss. Moved back to that stump with the grassy area and figured I'd give it a few more casts before I headed back to the car. Was starting to get really dark at about 8:45 and I didn't know the trail too well. Cast out the black/pink senko again and the second it hit the water, the line went tight. Set the hook and the battle was on. God I love this small rod, little bass seem big, and big bass seem massive. Fought this fish for about 5 minutes since I was in a light spot and didn't want it to get stuck in some downed branches in front of me.

This was an awesome fish. Very fat stomach, and I'm almost positive it was a female. Didn't have a scale but it was definitely over 4 lbs. The stomach was full, like someone was fishing with a Big Mac or something. I just ordered a scale so hopefully I can get an accurate measurement because I'm sick of estimating. Must've creeped out this couple that was walking the trail behind me because it was so dark and they heard a commotion in the water. Got them to take a pic of me with the fish, so thanks to them.

Either way, was good to snap the cold streak, got some good fish, and hopefully this will encourage anyone else who has had a cold streak lately to just stay at it!

Couldn't get a good night's sleep, so I woke up around 6:00am and said screw it, I'll go fishing before I get to work.

Hit up Lake Cochichewick in North Andover since I've caught some nice Spring bass in the shallows before. Granted, the best way to fish this Lake is in a boat, but whuddyagunnado?

Tried for about a half hour on the southern end of the lake, where Pleasant street has a little retaining wall. Have caught bass there in the past, but nothing was biting this morning. Wind was a little cold and blowing in my direction, so I decided to move.

Parked down the road where the Stevens Pond gravel lot is and headed down the trail. There's a little outlet dam that connects Stevens Pond to Cochichewick, and in the past me and my buddies have caught some of our biggest fish just jigging where the tunnel openings are. Tried a few jigs there but nothing was biting. They definitely haven't opened the dam yet.

The southeast tip of the Lake has a little brick hut that some Lake troll or something lives in. There's always a fish or two sitting right there, so I peeked down and saw what I thought was a Largemouth at first, but I looked a little closer and the telltale stripes were there. Biggest perch I have ever seen in person. Tossed on a little shakey head jig and the second I dropped it in the water, the perch shot off. Jigged around that area for another 15 minutes or so and caught a feisty Largemouth. What do you know, 8:30am already? Guess I'll head to work!

*Edited 5/20/15
Took my buddy fishing this past Sunday, decided to hit up the Putnamville Reservoir again, same spot that I had a little luck at before. We get right up to where the little runoff/dam thing is and immediately see 2 LARGE fish. One is a decent smallmouth who is guarding a nest, and the other was a beast of a largemouth darting around like crazy.

It was a really warm, sunny day, and the water temp is definitely getting up there. Fish are getting more active, but I still can't tell if it's Pre-spawn, or post-spawn just yet...(any tips are welcomed!).

We both tossed in some senkos (black/pink and watermelon w/red flake) and didn't get anything for the first 20 minutes. So we decided to toss it into the little dam right below us and we decided to start playing piss-off-the-smallmouth-protecting-its-bed by dropping lure after lure. It was actually really cool to watch, since the water was so clear and the sun was shining perfectly in that area. The fish would take a senko only after about 20 secs of the worm sitting there, bite it in the middle and slowly move it out of the bed about 3 feet away. It would then do a victory lap or something, like "yeah I'm the man, house is clean, wife's gunna be stoked" and then comes back and sits there. We finally hooked it on that lure that everyone has that needs to be thrown out but you feel like it will come in handy some day right? Well it came in handy for sure.

Unfortunately, the bass seemed a lot larger as we viewed it from above than it actually was once we got out of the water (see pic).

Caught another smallmouth about 15 yards from the shore with another senko. Sorry if I look like a schmuck in both the pictures. I had hernia surgery last Thursday so I was still in pain. You can call me Sally, go ahead.

My buddy caught a nice largemouth, but took the pic with his phone since he was on the other side of the dam. Was about a 2 pounder.

Left the reservoir and hit up Mill Pond in Danvers afterwards. That's another story for another day, because I'm pretty sure I either saw the biggest ****** bass I've ever seen, or it was a carp. Threw everything at it for a few hours and didn't even get a bite. If anyone has any intel on Mill Pond in Danvers, PM me!

Checked out Ames Pond again after catching a couple nice bass the night before. Left my office right as it began to POUR, and I was hoping to get out there while it was still raining a little bit to tryout a new spinner.

Fished the same spot from the night before but didn't get any bites with the spinner. Switched to pumpkinseed senko with no luck either.

Moved a little bit to a shallow area with a rocky bottom that extended out about 15 yards from the shore. Tried the spinner again for about 20 minutes with 0 luck. Sun was finally coming out of the clouds and the bugs were feasting on my face so I was ready to go. Thought to myself "when has one last cast ever been a bad idea?" Put the Senko back on and cast about 20-25 yards out where a small patch of lilies were. Let the worm sit for about 2 minutes and saw the line go tight. Hooked a Larry that seemed to quit on life so I thought it was a little guy. Turned out to be another nice 3lber, a little bit fatter than the previous night's.

There are definitely bass still in here, and there are beds all over the place. Could be sunfish beds but it's good to know the fishery is somewhat healthy given the average depth of the pond and the brutal winter we had.

So I gave this spot a 3/5 stars, and thought I would swing by on my way home today. Was itchin' to test out my new rig, so I tossed on a watermelon/orange-red w/copper flake Senko rigged Texas style and headed down the trail.

Usually fished the Rt.133 side of this pond with very little luck, but this time I tried to find a trail around the back. Found a trail and went around the southern end of the pond and fished a few shallow areas. Few bites but I think it was a little too shallow for your hefty Larrys.

I moved a little bit further down the trail and casted about 20 yards out. Tons of milfoil in the area, so I would tug at the line until it felt free of the weeds and I let it sit. Typically, I only catch bass when I let the worm sit, and if I reel it in, a Pickerel usually comes along and bites at it.

With the worm sitting there, I saw the line so tight and my new Ugly Stick is the shizznizzle and I was able to feel a really light, but unmistakable tug. Set the hook as if Bill Dance was watching and the fight began. Hooked a nice 3lb larry, pic doesn't do it justice as I was trying to balance on a tiny rock, hold my rod and the fish, while taking a pic.

Stayed at that spot for another 45 mins and caught another 2lb'er on the retrieve. Will be returning to this spot for sure!

Started the morning with a quick trip to Dick's Sporting Goods to get a new rod for my fiancee. Couldn't help but pick up a nice new Ugly Stick and Abu Garcia reel. Well, $181 later (Senkos, rooster tails, hooks, weeeee), we started the day at the Putnamville Resevoir in Danvers.

I parked where there's a little dam along the wall in the Northeast corner. Tossed my line in since I had a black/pink senko on my line from another trip, and I had to get my fiancee's rod all setup. In typical fishing-luck fashion, I'm just about to tie a hook onto my fiancee's rod and I see my rod getting tugged at (about 5 mins after I casted). Set the hook and had a really nice fight since I casted pretty far. Very nice smallmouth, about 2 lbs, little beer gut on the girl, must be a Freshman at Salem State. Needless to say, stayed there for about 2 hours and didn't get a single bite after that.

There is a runoff channel where the dam is, which I assume controls the water level. I saw about 2-3 different bass swimming around there in the shallows. One of them was a monster and would get spooked when I tried jigging for it. Those fish weren't biting anything, worms, jigs, rooster tail. If I had a piece of bread I would've tried that too.

Seems like everytime I cast a senko and just let it sit for 3-5 minutes, I get a lot of fish that way. I'm starting to think that I should have a 2-rod setup when shore fishing. One rod to soak a senko, and another with a rooster tail or spinner so I can cover lots of water. We'll see how that technique pans out next weekend.

Fished the Ipswich River over in Topsfield where it goes under Route 97. Plenty of movement, flies all over the place, so I tossed a rainbow rooster tail on my line and in the second cast caught a rowdy Rainbow, about 12" long or so. There were kayakers passing through and I was asking them how deep the water was where I was casting. They were saying it was about 1-2' deep, so that probably explains why I lost 2 rooster tails. Kept reeling in sizable branches as well, so after I lost the 2nd rooster tail, I left. Fish weren't biting anything else.

Fishing Upper Flannagan pond this past Sunday with my fiancee and brother. Got out there around 2:00pm, some overcast, and then eventually light drizzles, and very calm water (my preferred conditions).

Everyone was fishing 6" senkos, varying in color from green w/watermelon flake, black/pink mix, and light yellow. Everyone had bites at first, but nothing hooked.

About an hour in, I cast into a shallow area near a large rock about 20 yards from the shore. My fiancees rod was all messed up so I put my rod down for a few minutes to fix her setup. Grab my rod and noticed a big bite. Hooked a nice 3 pounder that was pretty lively. Water temp was actually pretty nice, since the pond is somewhat shallow and we had a warm week.

Stayed for another 2 hours and got diddly-squat. Saw tons of movement in the shallows and some jumps throughout the day, but they weren't biting.